Short Summary

Relations between Egypt and neighbouring libya have deteriorated sharply since the fatal train bombing incident in the Egyptian town of Alexandria on Saturday (14 August).

Description

Relations between Egypt and neighbouring libya have deteriorated sharply since the fatal train bombing incident in the Egyptian town of Alexandria on Saturday (14 August). Eight people died and 50 were injured in the blast which the Egyptian government has blamed on Libya.

SYNOPSIS: The train was stationary at Alexandria station when the blast ripped through a crowded third class carriage. Among the dead were three women and a child. The bomb had been placed in a luggage rack. Within hours, angry Egyptians tried to storm the local Libyan consulate. It was the most serious of the scattered bombing incidents in Egypt throughout the past year and followed a two-bomb explosion in Cairo six days earlier in which 14 people were injured. Libya has consistently denied Egyptian charges of responsibility for the incidents and has threatened to cut diplomatic relations.

Among the injured from the train blast were several children. Three of the injured were questioned under suspicion, but later cleared. An Interior Ministry statement issued within hours of the blast said the bomb was similar to those used in other attacks for which Libya has been held responsible.

An Egyptian government minister was quoted as claiming that Libya's leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, had set aside one million U.S. dollars to finance an armed coup against Egypt. The Libyan News agency, ARNA, denied Libyan involvement in the Alexandria blast and said it had been engineered by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as an excuse to introduce repressive measures.